Picture Gallery: East Kilbride globetrotters share the biggest adventure of their lives on hit blog

A BRAVE couple who ditched the nine to five grind and dusted down their backpacks to travel the world say they haven't looked back.

The intrepid travellers soak up the sun at Kho Phi Phi in Thailand (Photo: EKN)

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A nurse and a sales manager who gave up good jobs and the comforts of home to travel the world are hoping to inspire others to explore.

Cheryl Dorricott (31) and Kai Murdoch (30), from Stewartfield, decided to ditch the nine-to-five and put wedding plans on hold to set off on the biggest adventure of their lives.

They packed their bags last April and – despite food poisoning, Cheryl being run over by a scooter in Vietnam and being just minutes away from a terrorist bomb in Bangkok – the couple say they are not putting away their backpacks just yet.

The couple, who have dubbed themselves the Bonnie Backpackers, have set up a Facebook and Youtube blog taking in the highs – and occasional lows – of their journey so far.

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After leaving Scotland Cheryl and Kai spent three months in Vitenam and explored Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bali.

They flew to New Zealand in October and have been travelling around the North Island in their camper van Nessie.

Cheryl told the News: “The main reason behind our wanderlust was to live life to the fullest and to escape the nine-till-five work routine.

“It can swallow people up sometimes, along with their dreams and aspirations. We knew if we didn’t take the jump and leave when we did we possibly never would have.”

She went on: “There are so many highlights of our amazing adventure but one that stands out was volunteering in an orphanage in Vietnam for the day. It was a very emotional day but one of the most rewarding and happiest days we have had whilst travelling.

“We had arrived in Auckland and within three days we had bought an old Toyota Lucida and driven out of the city, not knowing where we were going.

“Nessie is now our wee home for travelling around New Zealand.

“She is a wee beauty if we do say so ourselves.”

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But their journey has not been all plain sailing.

“There are nightmare bus and train journeys, heat exhaustion at 52 degrees, scams and food poisoning so there have been a few hairy moments along the way,” said Cheryl.

The nurse continued: “I got knocked down by a scooter in Ho Chi Minh City.

“A young Vietnamese girl accidentally pushed her accelerator instead of her brakes when parking up on the pavement.

“But the scariest moment we had was in Bangkok.

“I got food poisoning and we didn’t manage to go on a tour of the temples that we had planned to do. Then at around 7pm lots of messages started coming through on our mobile phones, asking if we were safe, so we knew something had happened.

“We turned the TV on to then see the devastating news of the Bangkok bomb at one of the temples only 10 minutes from us. Someone was definitely looking down on us that day but it was a scary time for us and our family and friends.”

The couple say they have not fulfilled their wanderlust just yet and have more they want to see and do.

Cheryl said: “Let’s just say we don’t have a flight booked to go home yet.

“Travelling the world together has been without a doubt the best thing we have both done and we just wish everyone could experience the same joy we have.

“It changes you as a person and gives you a completely different outlook on life, which is something money can’t buy.”

To follow Cheryl and Kai go to www.facebook.com/bonniebackpackers or www.youtube.com/c/BonnieBackpackers.